1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material having a filling device and a filling machine having such a filling device.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine. Upon filling, a closing station closes the filled bottles. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. Bottles may be labeled in a labeling station, the labeling station having a conveyer arrangement to receive bottles and to output bottles. The closing station and the labeling station may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement.
The prior art describes a wide variety of filling elements for the filling of bottles or similar containers with a liquid. The prior art includes, among many others, short-tube filling elements for the (short-tube) filling of bottles or similar containers under normal pressure or under counterpressure, and specifically such that the container to be filled is located with the mouth of the container in sealed contact against the filling element, i.e. with the mouth of the container pressed in a sealed position against a gasket that encircles the dispensing opening of the filling element. The dispensing opening thereby surrounds an open tube that projects to some extent beyond the underside of the filling element and during the filling extends into the container opening and functions as a return gas tube, by means of which the gas displaced during the filling process by the incoming liquid is removed from the container, and specifically via at least one gas duct that is controlled by a gas valve.
The prior art also describes filling elements with a short filling tube, and in particular for the contactless or open-jet filling of a container that is located underneath the filling element and is centered in relation to the filling tube, but with its mouth at some distance from the filling element, whereby in this filling method, the liquid being bottled is delivered into the container in the form of an open jet of liquid.
Short-tube filling is suitable in particular for the bottling of soft drink products under counterpressure or at normal pressure. Open-jet filling is suitable in particular for the bottling of biologically sensitive products and is done without dripping and without the mouth of the respective container coming in contact with the filling element, and thus without the risk of bacterial contamination in particular.
Open-jet filling is also preferred for the bottling of products that have a viscosity that is too high for short-tube filling. In this case, too, open-jet bottling has the advantage that the filling takes place without dripping, and specifically without any contact between the mouth of the container and the filling element.